


Golden Girl

by WhoAtHeart



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Abuse, Aftermath of Torture, Death, F/M, Mentions of Suicide, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Scars, Torture, reader has ptsd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-05 14:56:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15865923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhoAtHeart/pseuds/WhoAtHeart
Summary: You have known nothing but torture and abuse, remember nothing of your life before. You may have been found, but you haven't escaped. Not with your mind, not in the way that matters.There is one person, one hand you're clinging to and only one person that may give you your life back.





	1. Found, but not freed

You didn’t know how it started. More importantly, you didn’t know when it would end. If it would end. And try as you might you were unable to end it for yourself.

 

All you’d ever known is pain. Pain and dark and cold and that room. That room that you feared above all other things. Yes, the lab was awful and you hated the experiments and pain you’d been made to suffer, but that room is what you hated and feared the most.

* * *

  
When they found you you were curled into a small ball, rocking back and forth, covered in blood. Half of it was yours and the other half came from your torturers.

 

Suddenly there was something touching you and you just screamed, scampering backward, still curled in on yourself. “No! Please! Please no more, no more. Can’t. Can’t,” your words slowly trailed off into mumbled pleas.

 

Steve looked at Sam, he hadn’t even touched you, had still been an inch or so away from it, but somehow you knew he was going to.

 

“Enhanced?”

 

“I don’t know, but we need to get her out of here and to the medical facility.” He walked over and knelt in front of you, staying about three feet away. “Ma’am?” he asked quietly, “Ma’am, can you look at me for a moment? I’m not here to hurt you.”

 

“Lies. Lies, lies, lies. Always look. Always tricked. No more hurt, no more,” your voice coming strangely staccato, breaks and emphasis placed where they shouldn’t be.

 

Suddenly, there was a small flash of gold light in the room for barely a moment before it was gone again with no sign of what it was or where it came from.

 

That light is what your captors had used as a homing beacon of sorts. An immensely painful and permanent homing beacon. It was fused into your very cells. There were thin gold lines covering your body in intricate patterns that looked more like tattoos than anything, but all the lines connected. When someone activated your tracker there was a flash of light that came from them before they began moving along your skin.

 

When the light flashed you began to panic, they were all supposed to be dead. They had to all be dead. You were sitting next to a pile of bodies and even though you have no idea what happened to them you hadn’t even thought about the possibility that some may still be alive.

 

You turned and crawled the five feet that separated you and your cage, making sure you were inside when they found you, you knew you would only bring on extra punishment if they caught you out of it.

 

Steve looked at you as you crawled away from him and into the cage that he’d just noticed and it cemented his conclusion that the light had come from you. “You don’t have to hide,” he said gently, walking over to you, sitting on the ground just outside your cage, “No one is going to hurt you anymore.”

 

You didn’t hear any of his words, too busy staring at the pile of bodies and trying to find all of the faces that you’d seen, your search hindered by the tears that swam in your eyes. You let out a little whimper. He wasn’t there. The man from the room wasn’t there.

 

Your skin was starting to tingle and grow hotter, a sure sign that he was getting close.

 

Your eyes landed on the man in front of your for the first time, panic in them as you saw everyone else that was in the room with you. “You must leave! Must! Have to! Go, go go,” you said frantically, “Hurt, hurt me, hurt you, must leave.” You hadn’t been spoken to or allowed to speak to anyone for as long as you could remember, even your involuntary pleas brought on punishment. But you listened and though your words weren’t exactly right you hoped that you were understood.

 

Everyone in the room moved all at once, perfectly in sync as they took defensive positions, no one was going to get to you, not if they could help it.

 

You noticed all the movement and shrank back with a whimper. You’d done something bad, but what? Everyone had been offended and moved, poised to strike you and you couldn't find it in yourself to blame them, you deserved it.

 

You’d ordered, you’d ordered them to leave. How could you be so stupid? They were probably here as a test or a taunt. They’d been sent to hurt you by him and they were going to follow through. “I’m sorry,” you sobbed, holding out your arms, one scarred by burns and the other by cuts. You had messed up and this was a bigger screw-up than most. Hopefully you could take the pain.

 

Steve gasped when he saw your arms, everyone in the room reacting to his noise of disgust. Though he could do a great many things, he decided to have Bucky take over. The other soldier knew how it felt to be you and Steve thought that he may be able to get through to you.

 

“Buck,” he said quietly.

 

Steve moved away and Bucky replaced him, sitting down on the ground in front of her cage. “Hi,” he said quietly, “I’m Bucky. Why are you scratching your arms like that? It seems painful.”

 

You timidly met his gaze before your eyes to where they had been looking. Watching your nails trying to scratch the gold, shimmery lines off of your body though you knew it wasn’t possible. “Please,” you rasped, “I’m being good, won’t fight. Please, please off, turn off.” Tears flowed down your cheeks and your pained noises only increased as time went on.

 

“What needs to be turned off?” Bucky asks, “What hurts?”

 

“Tracker. Skin. Burns. Please! Hurts!” you shriek. You began sobbing uncontrollably, screaming wordlessly at the pain.

 

Everyone’s heads snapped to look at you at the mention of a tracker, you couldn’t stay here, but there wasn’t any place they could go that wouldn’t eventually lead them to you. No security is absolute, not even at the Avengers' compound.

 

You finally decided that your best option was the one that led you away from him, no matter how you were treated after this. You still had no idea who the man in front of you was, but he seemed kind and you just wanted to scream and run.

 

Suddenly, the burning stopped and you had no idea why, but it was more than welcome. There was a commotion somewhere nearby, but you needed to get away from here and simply hope that the commotion didn’t lead to more pain. You crawled closer to the man before you so that you were within reach of him, “Help?” was all you could manage.

 

Bucky immediately pulled you into his arms gently and lifted you to carry you out of the place you’d been held in. You drifted in and out of consciousness as you were carried out and were driven to the Avengers’ compound to get treatment from the best doctors there were. However, when Bucky set you down and tried to walk away you grabbed hold of his sleeve and wouldn’t let go.

 

Bucky placed his hand on top of yours and leaned down to whisper in your ear, “I’ll be right here, I won’t leave you alone. The doctors need to take a look at you and make sure that you’re going to be alright. You need some healing. I’ll stay right here,” he stood up straight and pointed to the chair by the far wall.

 

You whimper but slowly managed to release his sleeve.

 

He did as he promised and your eyes never left him as you let the doctors manipulate you how they wanted so they could examine you. There were times when he looked away when you had more skin and body parts showing than he thought was proper to look at and it made you smile for what felt like the first time. You didn’t have any care how much of your skin was bared to the world. You’d barely been afforded clothes and when you had they had been like the dirty, ratty dress they had found you in.

 

You winced a couple times when they surprised you with pinpricks, needles, your mind supplied. The other aches and pains didn’t make you flinch, you were used to them. The most surprising was that your pain faded soon after they inserted a needle attached to a tube that led to a bag of clear liquid.

 

You soon became tired and your eyelids drooped and you began to panic for the first time since the doctors began examining you. You couldn’t see him, wouldn’t know he was there if you fell asleep. He was the only one you trusted and he may go away.

 

You felt a calloused yet gentle hand take yours and you forced your eyes to open and there he was, the man that you trusted, sitting next to your bed and holding your hand. “I’m right here Doll,” he murmured, “I promised you I wouldn’t leave and I keep my promises.”

 

You took a deep breath and nodded, a small barely there smile on your lips. “Promise, promised,” you assured yourself as you drifted into sleep.


	2. New Mission

You woke slowly and noted that you hadn't been woken by one of the guards. You immediately sat up and curled yourself into a tight ball, whimpering quietly when something pulled out of your arm, but it didn’t stop you from burying your face in your knees.

 

A guard hadn’t woken you, you’d woken on your own. That could only mean one of two things, the lab, or that room. You prayed that it was the former. No matter how painful the experiment was it was far better than being taken to him.

 

You felt a hand take yours and you flinched, whimpering and pulling it away, too afraid to look at who had decided to touch you. You didn’t care, no touch had ever meant anything good.

 

“It’s okay Doll,” came a quiet voice and you looked at him, bewildered, only now remembering what happened. No. No, no, no. It had been just as you feared. It had all been a test or a trick and you had failed miserably. You’d caved so quickly. It had taken mere minutes for you to cling to hope.

 

“Trick, test,” you croaked. You were only permitted to speak when you were telling them that you failed. That you knew the reason that you were to be punished.

 

Confusion crossed the man’s face before it was taken over by shock and then tenderness. You hid your face again. “Please, please, lab. Not him. Please,” you begged, though you knew it would be useless, no one here cared about your opinion or desires.

 

“Hey,” came the kind voice once more, “Hey, you’re safe. You remember? My friends and I, we found you yesterday and brought you to a safe place.” He squeezed your hand gently, “Please. Please look at me Doll,” he requested.

 

You peeked at him over your knees, tears streaming down your cheeks.

 

“C’mon, look around, just a little. Can you do that for me?”

 

His voice was so sweet, almost pleading so you did as he asked. You were in a lab, or something similar. It looked the same, stark white and clinical, but it was much more modern. Not some dingy room in a basement with instruments that you had begun to associate with only pain. “Other lab?” you asked, voice small and childlike. “What... Why 'm here?” You didn't know how to express your fears and questions better.

 

“Oh, nothing Doll, we’re not going to do anything except take care of you,” he crooned, “I’m sorry, we didn’t think. We should have moved you. This seems very clinical,” he observed, looking around the room. “Would you like that? To be in a bedroom rather than this?”

 

“B-bedroom?” It was your turn to be confused.

 

“Yes, a comfortable bed, one of the girls could help you with a bath if you like. Some clean pajamas.”

 

You didn’t know how to react, how to process what was happening, it was too much, you couldn’t do anything except stare at him bewildered.

 

He let the silence linger for a moment before speaking again, “I’m overwhelming you,” he observed, he knew that feeling. “I’m going to help you up to your bedroom and we can go from there.” Too many decisions were hard at first. He didn’t know how long you’d been without choice, but even a small amount of time was enough to make even one choice too much.

 

You nodded silently and he took your hand and helped you stand. It felt odd to not immediately sink down onto your knees, but he helped you take wobbling steps to get into the elevator, holding much of your weight for you despite there being very little of it.

 

He pressed the button on the elevator rather than using F.R.I.D.A.Y. and risk scaring you. The elevator would bring the two of you to the floor with his apartment and the empty one across from his that was made up for you. He’d told Tony to keep the other rooms hidden apart from the door into the bathroom, not wanting you to be too overwhelmed, though the size of just the bedroom could be much more space than you may like.

 

As the two of you made your way down the hall he spoke to you, “The room is rather big so try and be prepared.”

 

You nodded weakly, exhausted from just the small amount of exertion that you’d had. The man stopped at a door and placed his thumb on a small button. A green light went up and down along his finger before it chirped and the door opened. “You and I are the only ones with access, this room is yours. If you don’t want me to have access either I can take my information away. But for now, let’s get you into bed.” He helped you into the massive bed and you melted onto the mattress, too tired to do anything more.

 

“I’ll let you sleep Doll.”

 

“No,” you mumbled, “I- not alone,” you requested.

 

“Of course, I’ll sit right over there,” he pointed to a comfortable looking chair. “I promise I won’t leave until you want me to.”

 

You nodded, “Um, n-name?" You asked quietly before it dawned on you that you were being bothersome and impolite. "S-sorry.”

 

“No need to be sorry,” he assured you, “My name is Bucky.”

 

You nodded and closed your eyes, swiftly falling back asleep.

 

* * *

  
“I have a mission for you,” Steve said quietly, not wanting to wake their guest as Bucky had refused to leave her room.

 

“No,” Bucky replied flatly.

 

“Aren’t you going to ask what it is first? You’re going to want this one.”

 

“I’m not leaving Steve and that’s final.”

 

“At least ask me what it is Buck.”

 

Bucky glared at Steve, he wasn’t going to break a promise, especially not one he’d made to the vulnerable girl.

 

Steve sighed, “I guess I’ll have to have someone else care for her then.”

 

Bucky glowered at him, “Not a chance.”

 

“So you’ll take the mission then?”

 

“God, Steve, what fucking mission?”

 

“Taking care of her,” he said, nodding to the sleeping girl who looked tiny in such a big bed. “I thought that’s what I just said,” he smiled.

 

“Oh,” Bucky murmured, cheeks turning a light shade of pink. He was so protective of the poor girl that he didn’t even understand the insinuation.

 

“Do you know her name yet?” Steve asked.

 

“I was just trying to make her feel safe. She woke up and thought we were going to experiment on her,” he said, voice pained, the thought clearly upsetting him. “She thought we were some sort of trick or test that she’d failed.”

 

Steve put his hand on his friend’s arm, “Hey, we have no idea how long she was there. She probably knew nothing except experiments.”

 

Bucky scrubbed his face with his hands, Steve gently pulling his metal arm away before Bucky could hurt himself with it.

 

“What is it, Buck?”

 

“She begged me to take her to the lab,” he said, pained, “Not to _him_. She begged for experiments Steve, begged for them rather than what some other man did.”

 

“She’s safe Bucky, no one is going to hurt her anymore.”

 

Bucky’s eyes remained on the sleeping girl, expression stormy, but he tensed and his face immediately softened when she stirred.

 

“Bye,” Steve said quietly before letting himself out.


	3. Names

You woke with a scream, bolting upright and immediately scratching at your arms, trying furiously to get the golden lines off of your skin. The echo of burning and pain on your body faded slowly as the last vestiges of your dream slipped away.

 

Bucky was immediately at your side, gently pulling your hand away before you could cause yourself to bleed from trying to remove the markings. 

 

You jumped before looking at him and staying where you were, your heartbeat slowly slowing back to normal. “Stayed,” you breathed, surprise in your tone. You wanted to trust him and he seemed to be gentle and kept his promises, but it was hard.

 

“I did,” he agreed, stroking his thumb along the back of your hand that he still held, “I will keep my word.”

 

You nodded slowly, looking down at the hand that was being held, tears filling your eyes and they dropped down to land on it. Your heart and mind didn’t know how to process what what was happening to you. 

 

Bucky moved his hand to stroke up and down your arm, “It’s alright. It’s hard to adjust.”

 

You nodded, sniffling a little as you fully looked at him for the first time. You frowned and reached down to touch his other hand, fingertips stroking along the cold metal. “You?”

 

He turned the hand up and curled it gently around yours. “Me,” he agreed. “Can I ask you something Doll?”

 

You bit your lip and looked up at him again, unsure you wanted to know what it was. You didn’t want to talk about anything that had happened to you, but somehow you knew that the question wouldn’t be about that. You nodded slowly.

 

“Will you tell me your name?”

 

Your eyebrows pulled together, “Not Doll?” you questioned. You’d assumed that he’d been calling you by your name, that he knew something that you didn’t. 

 

His eyes widened a bit, “No, no, Doll is a nickname, something you use instead of someone's name.” 

 

“Oh,” you murmured, processing the new information before shrugging. “New?” Maybe he could give you a new name. Or he could just keep calling you Doll, you didn’t mind.

 

“You don’t know your name,” he sighed. He hadn’t known his either, not until his memories started to return. “New? You want a new name?” he asked, your vocabulary seemed to be less than most and stringing many words together seemed to be difficult, but he would help with that. They all would if you wanted to be around them at some point. Until then he would do his best to learn and understand what you meant when you spoke.

 

You smiled and nodded, eager to hear what other names were. You only knew his, he was the only person you knew that had a name.

 

“Don’t you want to pick your own name?”

 

“You. Only name.”

 

“I’m the only person you know the name of?” he questioned, hoping he was understanding what you meant.

 

Again, you smiled and nodded.

 

“Oh. Well, I don’t know,” he murmured. He wasn’t well enough prepared for this. “Can I think about it?”

 

A small sound left you that you couldn’t identify, it was unlike anything you’d ever produced before. As soon as you heard it your eyebrows pulled together. “What?” you asked, worried that something was wrong with you.

 

“You’ve never laughed before? Wow, well, that was a laugh. People do that when they’re expressing joy.”

 

You nodded, you liked the sound of it, especially now that you knew what it meant. “You think,” you agreed. “Like Doll.”

 

“Well, if you like it I can use it until we find something that you like better. How does that sound.”

 

The laugh came again and you bit your lip, nodding. Joy, it meant joy, you’d never known joy before now, but you liked it. You moved forward and leaned your head against his chest. You felt safe being close to him and you wanted to know what it felt like to enjoy a closeness with another person.

 

Bucky stiffened for just a moment before relaxing and wrapping his metal arm around you. The touch made you shiver, but when he went to pull away you quietly said, “Please,” and the arm immediately returned to hold you.

 

The two of you remained that way for nearly an hour, you not wanting to move and he refusing to pull away something that you wanted. But soon he had to move, some of his limbs beginning to fall asleep.

 

“Hey Doll,” he crooned, “Do you know what a bathtub is?” He wasn’t saying that you smelled, the nurses had cleaned you up, but he thought it would be relaxing.

 

“No,” you said without a care.

 

“Oh, it’s very nice. You fill it with warm water and bubbles if you like and just relax.”

 

“Good,” you hummed, that sounded very nice.

 

“Would you like to try it?”

 

You paused before deciding that yes, you would like to try it and nodded.

 

“Okay. I have a friend that will help you with taking a bath.”

 

“Why?” Why wouldn’t he help you?

 

“Oh, well, it isn’t considered… proper, for a man to help a woman bathe except for in certain situations.”

 

You couldn’t meet someone else, couldn’t trust them. No, she couldn’t do that. Only he was safe. “No.” You hoped the refusal wouldn’t make him angry.

 

He should have expected that you wouldn’t want to meet someone else, but he’d been hoping that you would trust that he would never put you in harm.

 

“What if I was there? All she would do is help you out of your clothes and into the water. We’ll put bubbles in it so that I wouldn’t see you naked.”

 

You shrug, still not understanding the problem, “Always. Naked always.”

 

Bucky closed his eyes and counted to ten slowly so that he wouldn’t speak to you harshly. “They were bad men. They should not have done that to you. I don’t want to be like them. I want to respect your privacy.”

 

You pulled back and looked at him, he was a good person. He wanted to respect you. No one had ever given you that courtesy. Finally, you nodded, you would trust him enough to meet his friend and if you didn’t like them you thought he would let you say no. “Friend,” you agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if I switch between using 'you' and 'her/she' I've never written a reader insert before so I would appreciate being told so I can go in and edit! 
> 
> Also, I'm constantly critiquing my own work so I'll go in and change small things if I don't like the wording. Nothing that will change the story, just little tweaks. I tend to read the whole story before going back in and writing the next chapter so I'm always finding something to fix.
> 
> I'm doing my absolute best to be respectful about the subject of PTSD, but I've never written a character with it before so I'm very sorry if I get something wrong here or there. I'm reading as much about it ask I can.
> 
> Please let me know what you think!


	4. Enhanced?

He nodded and gave you a small smile, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead, “I’ll be right back. I promise. Do you think you’ll be okay for a few minutes?”

 

You hesitated before giving a small nod. You hoped you would be. But as soon as he was out of the room your skin began to crawl and panic rose up inside of you. You pulled a pillow in for a hug and brought your knees up to your chest and pulled the blanket up to your chin. You tried to breathe deeply and remember that you were okay, but it didn’t help.

 

Every tiny sound had you jumping and when you thought you heard a noise at the door you scrambled off the bed and sat with your back against it, resuming the same position that you had been in on the bed, hoping that if someone came in and saw the room empty that they would leave. You rocked back and forth, crying into your knees and wishing that Bucky had never left.

* * *

 

He didn’t feel great about leaving her alone, but he didn’t want to frighten her by asking FRIDAY. He had had to get used to the AI and he had already had a little bit of time. His abuse hadn’t been so fresh when he came to live with the others. Knowing there was always someone watching and listening seemed to make the others fell protected, but he’d felt like he was back to being an experiment.

He’d decided on asking Wanda to help him. As hard as Nat may try to put her at ease, he’d always sensed the air of a warrior in her. Pepper could have been a good choice, but Wanda was closer in age to their frightened guest and she had experience as an experiment. And that was even without mentioning that she could help get into her mind and help to calm her. Though he felt loathe to do so. She’d been controlled for too long and he didn’t want to do anything close to what her captors had.

He knocked on the door to Wanda’s apartment and heard her call out that he could come in. Most everyone had access to each other’s apartments, their new guest’s apartment was special in that way. He scanned his thumb and walked in, following the scent of coffee brewing into the kitchen and smiled as a mug of coffee was immediately in front of him. 

“How is she Bucky?” she asked quietly.

He sunk into a chair and rest his head in his hands, not realizing how tired he was until just now. “Not good,” he breathed. “She knows nothing else, Wanda. Not her name or much vocabulary. Stringing two words together seems hard for her. She woke and tried to scratch the golden markings off of her skin. She nearly broke the skin.”

Wanda sighed and sat next to Bucky, placing a hand on her shoulder, “Steve said she had experienced something worse than being experimented on?” she asked quietly.

“She begged to be taken to the lab rather than to this other man. She was desperate not to be taken to him, Wanda. I think he was the one that she was so scared of before we got her out of there.”

“We both know how hard it is James. She needs time and care. She seems to cling to you, but you can’t do it alone. The emotional toll is already more than you can handle. You’re exhausted.”

“She doesn’t want to meet anyone else.”

Wanda tipped her head to the side, “Why are you here Bucky?”

“I thought she might like a bath and she said it sounded nice once I told her what it was, but I don’t want to… I can’t be like them. I asked if I could have a friend come help and the only way I could make her agree was if you just helped her out of her clothes and into the bubble bath so that I wouldn’t see her inappropriately.” He let out a sad little chuckle, “She didn’t know that it mattered that other people saw her naked.” A small tear ran down his cheek.

Wanda sighed and wiped his tear away and leaned her head on his shoulder, “I’ll help. I’ll help however the two of you would like. Maybe she’ll let me stay and get to know her if you’re there,” she suggested.

Bucky squeezed her hand gently, “Thank you, Wanda.”

* * *

 

The longer that Bucky was gone the more panic filled you at the thought that he wouldn’t come back. Your breathing sped up and your sobbing got louder. You had been taken from the only place that you had ever known and you were alone. 

Your skin started crawling over your entire body, the gold lines beginning to move faster and faster until a blinding gold light shot off from your body and the lights went off which only scarred you all the more, causing another flash of gold light that immediately brought the lights back on.

Your body got hotter and hotter and your smelled something burning as your heated skin burned everything that you were touching, the pillow and blanket that you were clinging to quickly turning to ask in your arms.

* * *

 

He didn’t know how long they had been sitting there before FRIDAY’s voice filled the room.  _ Sergeant Barnes, you are needed in our guest’s roo- _

The voice was cut off as the power went out and Bucky was immediately on his feet, running back to your room as fast as he could, Wanda close behind. Before they could reach the stairs the lights came back on, but they took the stairs anyway, they would be faster than the elevator.

“Who the hell set off an EMP in my building?” came Tony’s irritated voice.

“Shut up Tony!” the two shouted before reaching the proper floor and slowing so they wouldn’t scare you with running footsteps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I find that I don't like reading fics with the Y/N thing in it. But I'm not sure if I can write the fic without it? 
> 
> Like, if I name the reader does it make it an original female character story now? Or if the name is more like a pet name that everyone just calls the reader like Dove or something? 
> 
> Is the reader part the Y/N or the verbiage of using the word 'you'? 
> 
> If I use something like Dove do I need to reclassify this as an OFC work and change all of it to 'she/her'?
> 
> Thoughts?


	5. Hot and Cold

“Bucky,” Wanda whispered as they made their way toward the young woman’s apartment.

 

“I feel it,” he murmured. The temperature around them was getting hotter as they continued forward and the smell of things burning only became more pungent. They were going to have to sort all of this out sooner than expected now that it seemed as if their guest had enhanced abilities. 

 

By the time they reached the door, they both had beads of sweat forming on their skin. Bucky reached out and scanned his print before flinching as a wall of hot air poured out at them and he noted that the girl was nowhere in sight.

 

He motioned for Wanda to stay where she was. “Hey,” he crooned as he slowly made his way inside, “Doll, are you in here?”

 

You whimpered and curled yourself into a tighter ball until the fact that the voice belonged to Bucky permeated your scared mind. “Y-yes,” you croaked.

 

Bucky made his way around the bed and his eyebrows lifted as he saw the ashes that covered your body and the scorch marks on everything that your skin was touching. He blushed when he noted that your clothes had turned into ash as well, but he approached you anyway.

 

You shook your head frantically as he made his way closer, your skin still felt as if it were burning up and you didn’t want to hurt him. “Away,” you squeaked, “Hot. Hot.”

 

He knelt down in front of you and he had to admit that he was uncomfortable with the heat, but he reached out with his metal hand and cupped your cheek. “It’s okay,” he assured you, “Sometimes metal arms work in your favor.”

 

The metal was cool against your unbearably hot skin, “Hurts.”

 

He smiled, “I would imagine that it does. How about we get you into the tub, but we’ll put cold water in it. Maybe it will help cool you down a bit.”

 

You nodded, you would take anything at this point.

 

“Okay, well my friend Wanda is here. She’s the woman I told you about. Would it be okay if she filled the tub? I’ll wait here with you and help you over there when it’s ready.”

 

“Please,” you whimpered.

 

Wanda immediately moved to the bathroom and began filling the tub, keeping the temperature as cold as possible. She walked back out and hovered near the end of the bed, “It’s ready,” she hummed, hoping not to scare you.

 

You jumped, but Bucky’s gentle squeeze of your hand grounded you and you let him pull you up and make your way into the bathroom, the floor beneath your feet burning with each step. You saw the huge room and marveled at its size and beauty, but a gentle tug on your hand drew your attention to the large vessel that you assumed was the bathtub. You let him help you into the water and it immediately steamed up, but it still was a relief to have the coolness against your skin.

 

“Has this happened before?” came a woman’s gentle voice. 

 

You liked the sound of it. She was the first female that you’d ever met and you found that you were far more comfortable around her that you had thought you would be. You looked up at her where she was sat on the counter near the sink, she looked nice, very non-threatening, and you smiled at her. “Not me.”

 

“Not you?”

 

“Has this only happened while in a lab?” Bucky asked.

 

You nodded, he seemed to always know what you were trying to say. 

 

Bucky bit his lip, how did they stop something that had up until now been completely artificial? The people who had caused this were able to control it apparently, but he didn’t have the knowledge of how they did it. And the only people who may be able to figure it out were Bruce and Tony. 

 

“Can stop?” you asked quietly. 

 

Bucky sighed and ran his fingers through your hair, “I don’t know Doll. I don’t have that kind of background that may help me understand how it works.”

 

Your hopeful eyes turned to Wanda, but she shook her head. You frowned and worried your bottom lip, if they couldn’t help does that mean this would never stop?

 

“We know some people that might be able to help, but I don’t know if you’re up for meeting them,” Wanda said honestly. Out of everyone, Tony was the most likely to mishandle the situation. 

 

“Just the one,” Bucky murmured under his breath, his thoughts the same as Wanda’s. “Our friend is a doctor. He may be able to help if he can…” he hesitated, “If he can examine you.”

 

That one word sent shivers up your spine. Wait, no, you were cold. You had shivered because this water was too cold. “Cold!” you exclaimed, causing both of your companions to jump.

 

“What?” Bucky asked, going to your side and stroking your hair, trying to soothe you from whatever the new upset was.

 

“Me,” you insisted, touching his face gently with your hand.

 

“Oh! You’re cold now. No, not just cold, you’re freezing.” He stood and lifted you out of the bath, Wanda immediately wrapping you in a towel.

 

She went over and drained the tub, rinsing the ash out of it before filling it with warm water. “Now that you’re feeling a bit better let’s give you that nice relaxing bath you were promised,” she laughed. “You’re a little dirty from those ashes and we can give your hair a wash. One of my favorite feelings is having someone else wash my hair.”

 

“What do you think Doll, can Wanda keep you company while I get everything that was burned replaced? There may be some people in and out, but you and Wanda will be safe in here.”

 

You nodded, you liked Wanda, she was nice and she would be here to keep you safe.

 

“Sounds perfect, some time to be just us girls. Bath is ready, let’s get back in.”

 

Bucky lowered you back into the tub and kissed your forehead before leaving the bathroom and closing the door.

 

Wanda sat next to the edge of the tub, “Bucky said that you don’t know your name. Do you think we should come up with one?” she asked before lowering her voice conspiratorially, “I bet we can do better than Bucky could.”

 

You let out another little laugh and nodded.


End file.
